Commission grants

San Diego County Commission on Children, Youth and Families grants awarded to organizations whose leaders serve on the commission, by meeting:

Nov. 4, 2011

$7,500: Promises2Kids, a San Diego nonprofit run by commission member Tonya Torosian. Torosian is also the former executive director of the commission.

$15,100: Chadwick Center for Children and Families, a program of Rady Children’s Hospital. Charles Wilson, the Chadwick Center executive director, is a commission member.

$5,000: Passport to Life 2011 event co-hosted by the San Diego Workforce Partnership and the county probation department. Supervisor Greg Cox is a commission member and a policy board member for the partnership. Probation chief Mack Jenkins is a commission member.

Sept. 9, 2011

$5,000: San Diego Domestic Violence Council, a local nonprofit whose president is commission member Dawn Griffin.

May 6, 2011

$2,500: County of San Diego Children’s System of Care Training Academy, a program of the county Health and Human Services Agency, run by commission member Nick Macchione.

$5,000: County Department of Parks and Recreation, which is directed by commission member Brian Albright.

March 4, 2011

$5,000: Chula Vista Community Collaborative, a South Bay umbrella program whose governing board includes commission member Paula Guerra.

$50,000: San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, whose director is commission member Macchione.

The county Commission on Children, Youth and Families awarded $7,500 on Friday to the local charity Promises2Kids to help pay for an upcoming youth-leadership conference.

The commission also gave $15,100 to the Chadwick Center for Children and Families to support a January conference and $5,000 to subsidize a workshop hosted in June by the San Diego Workforce Partnership.

The groups all had something in common — a senior leader from their organization also serves on the commission handing out the public funds.

In fact, most of the grants awarded by the Commission on Children, Youth and Families are awarded to groups whose executives or board members sit on the county commission, a review by The Watchdog shows.

Supervisor Greg Cox, who represents the Board of Supervisors on the commission, serves on the policy board of the San Diego Workforce Partnership.

He was out of town Friday and did not attend the commission meeting. He issued a statement saying he recognizes grants are given to agencies whose leaders serve on the panel. He noted they are experts in their field and deliver worthwhile services.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword because the people who serve on the commission are subject matter experts who are highly respected in their fields,” Cox said. “We actively seek their advice, but I can see where there might be a perception problem because of their involvement with the agencies that are receiving funds.”

Members of the county children’s commission regularly recuse themselves from votes involving their own agencies.

Robert Fellmeth, the University of San Diego professor who runs both the Children’s Advocacy Initiative and the Center for Public Interest Law, said recusal might not be enough to solve the potential problem of conflicting interests.

“They might get by just by refusing to vote, but actually should properly not be involved in any aspect of the decision,” Fellmeth said.

There can be “no advocacy, behind the scenes work, etc.,” he said. “And if the conflict is pervasive, i.e., if it applies to a substantial portion of the grants being distributed, they should not be on the board making those decisions.”

The Commission on Children, Youth and Families has some duties mandated by the state. It addresses various concerns confronting foster youth, neglected children and others at risk in the community.

This fiscal year, the volunteer commission will spend about $1.5 million, most of it from state and federal sources.

County officials said Friday there is no rule preventing the commission from awarding money to groups tied to its own governing board, as long as the board member has a remote interest in the recipient agency, discloses it and does not participate in the action.

Previously

In 2009, after The San Diego Union-Tribune disclosed similar conflicting interests among commissioners and volunteer committee members at First 5 San Diego, the board tightened the rules. Now anyone serving First 5 San Diego, which oversees tobacco-tax revenues for early-childhood programs, is ineligible to receive grants from the commission. Several members stepped down, rather than cost their nonprofit group grants.

After The Watchdog inquired about potential conflicts at the youth and families agency, one major grant request was denied on Friday.

Vice Chairman Walter Philips, who serves as chief executive of the San Diego Youth Services nonprofit, requested $100,000 to help fund a drop-in center for teenagers and young adults he wants to open in Golden Hill.

The money was to be granted to Philips’ nonprofit with no other applicants. Philips left the room for the discussion and a healthy debate ensued over whether the commission needs to do a better job promoting its funding opportunities.

At the end, Philips’ request was tabled to allow the executive committee time to develop stronger policies about awarding grants and publicizing their programs.

Cynthia Bashant, the Juvenile Court presiding judge and chair of the Commission on Children, Youth and Families, said she understands that some people might question the agency’s grants. But she said the commission rarely gets grant requests from outside organizations.

“We’ve been a very open group,” she said after the meeting. “We do try (to advertise funding opportunities). Perhaps we need to do a better job.”